St. Lucie County Public Safety partners with NOAA on weather radio tower

FORT PIERCE - St. Lucie County's Department of Public Safety and Communications is pleased to announce that through its partnership with the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) weather program the NOAA Weather Radio service is up and running again on the Treasure Coast.

St. Lucie County worked with the NOAA's Melbourne Forecast Office of the National Weather Service (NWS) for the past five months to provide space and equipment for the National Weather Service's weather radio transmitter to be replaced and upgraded to put out a 500-watt signal.

"We are pleased to be able to return NOAA Weather Radio service to the Treasure Coast this week and appreciate the partnership from St. Lucie County to help make it happen. The new transmitter will allow the power to be increased nearly three-fold once FCC approval is granted, which will further improve and expand coverage of the broadcast. When it comes to severe weather, seconds can save lives, and we encourage all citizens to have a NOAA Weather Radio and to move to a safe location immediately when a warning is issued for their area," said Scott Spratt, Warning Coordination Meteorologist from the Melbourne Forecast Office of the NWS.

Working with the Federal Communication Commission's Emergency Alert System, the National Weather Radio Service is an all hazards radio network, making it a single source for comprehensive weather and emergency information. In conjunction with emergency managers and other public officials, the NWS broadcasts warnings and post-event information for all types of hazards including natural events such as extreme weather events, marine advisories, environmental accidents and public safety issues such as a child abduction or 911 telephone outage.